I am looking to replace my Moto G (second generation) with a new phone 9cracked screen aging battery issues). I like the specs of the new Moto g5 but it lacks NFC, which is something I would use. But I am not sure how useful it really is. Does whipping out your phone really save anything over whipping out your credit card?

If you have NFC do you find you use it often and with what results. Recommended or not?

Thanks

"Every time I see an adult on a bicycle, I no longer despair for the future of the human race." H.G. Wells

I started using it about a month ago, when I began using Android Pay. I really like it for that reason. There are other applications as well, mainly transferring stuff phone to phone, but I've not felt a significant need for that stuff yet. And "yet" may be the key.

So right now Android pay is my big draw for NFC, and my AP usage will certainly increase as more places adopt it. Critical? No. Convenient? Definitely. More "secure" than handing over your card or getting skimmed at a gas pump? Probably, if you have properly secured the phone itself. So I would no longer be willing to have a phone without NFC.

I specifically spent more to get a phone that had NFC (I was between 2 phones). It is not something I use much, but since I try to keep phones at least 2 years, I wanted to not be without something that has been around for sometime on a new phone ("future proof"). You can use it for Android Pay, to pair certain Bluetooth devices and transfer things between phones (I think actually initiate the transfer).

I find that most retailers don't take Android pay yet. It has been very convenient though when I've left my wallet at home or in the car and I have my phone and they did take it. As to saving time, sometimes you have to enter your pin on your phone so it isn't really faster. [OT comment removed by admin LadyGeek]

Most people probably wouldn't miss NFC but on the other hand, it is not an expensive chip to add (for the manufacturer) and pretty common now.

Indeed, most of the early iterations of the chip technology seemed quite slow. My local (Upstate NY) grocery chain, Wegman's, only recently installed their chip reading tech. It is instant, really two or three seconds after I insert my card it tells me to remove it>n

"Every time I see an adult on a bicycle, I no longer despair for the future of the human race." H.G. Wells

badger42 wrote:My phone has NFC. I use it occasionally for mobile payments, but it's hardly critical as few enough places take it that you can't leave your credit cards at home.

For a mid price phone with NFC plus great specs, consider the OnePlus 3T. If you won't take advantage of a high spec device otherwise, I would just get the G5 plus and get NFC next time.

I was between the OnePlus 3T and Axon 7. I went with the Axon and am happy with it. I wonder though if I could have spent half as much and gotten 90% of what I got (Axon 7 was around $400). My previous phone was a OnePlus One. The differences are minimal in daily use between the new and old except battery life (which is the main reason I upgraded).

I really like it. Hold your device to the terminal and it's done. As mentioned above, it takes 2 seconds, whereas the chip takes awhile. A different transaction 'token' is used at each transaction so if it is somehow intercepted or the terminal was hacked, it is only good for that one transaction. The intercepted (or hacked) info cannot be reused.

I do not find that many places which have it enabled. Home Depot has it, Lowes does not. Gas stations with terminals at the pump do not. Some groc stores do.

I would not buy a device specifically to use this function but if it was included I would activate it.

My last phone had NFC, and I never used it. My current phone doesn't have NFC, and I don't miss it. But if it's a feature you want, you should factor it into your purchase decision as one of myriad variables. I decided I didn't need it and probably wouldn't use it, so it is of no value to me.

"The course of history shows that as the government grows, liberty decreases." Thomas Jefferson

OP....what did you decide to do? Wife and I both have 3 yr old Moto X 1st generation, at the time NFC was a selling point. We tried to use it a couple times with hiccups and haven't used it since. I'm on the fence with getting NFC in my next phone (Moto G5??) to start using Android pay. It turns out to be about a $150 spread between with NFC and without.

I would not buy a device specifically to use this function but if it was included I would activate it.

Bingo. Acceptance isn't wide enough yet but I've started using it more frequently where accepted. It really is much faster and, if you care about such things, more secure too. I look forward to the day when acceptance is wide enough that I don't need to carry cards around.

Nope. Not enough merchants I frequent accept it yet, it doesn't always work, and on at least a few phones I've seen, it can suck battery life pretty good if you always leave it on. On a related note, I don't like having screen locks on my phone, and some (all?) of the mobile wallets require them.

Why are so many people in such a big rush to save a few seconds on everything they do?

Loik098 wrote:Nope. Not enough merchants I frequent accept it yet, it doesn't always work, and on at least a few phones I've seen, it can suck battery life pretty good if you always leave it on. On a related note, I don't like having screen locks on my phone, and some (all?) of the mobile wallets require them.

Why are so many people in such a big rush to save a few seconds on everything they do?

I use NFC daily, but never for payments. I have NFC dots in various areas for automating tasks when scanned. It didn't cost much to get the bag of dots and I can link each dot's identifier with whatever automated tasks I desire.

Depends on the password requirements of your phone. For me a chip card is at least 2x-3x faster than mobile payment. I use my personal phone for work email as well but they push a strong password requirement. Needs to be entered a minimum of two times when trying to mobile pay so I nearly gave up trying to use it. I bought a Moto G5 plus today actually to replace my three year old phone. Was kinda shocked that the new phone wouldn't have something my old one did but it was cheap enough that I won't complain. Nothing out there on the phone market I'm interested in at the moment. Feels like we need some kind of larger step forward.

TheGreyingDuke wrote:OP here, I bought a slightly used Samsung 7 edge, $300, and it has nfc, use it frequently

Just use Samsung Pay. It uses MST technology, which is far superior to NFC, and works almost everywhere. People tell me all the time that I can't pay with my phone and they're shocked when it works. Plus, you earn points that can be redeemed for gift cards. I bought a wallet case for my Galaxy s7. I keep my driver's license and one credit card in it and now rarely bring an actual wallet anywhere. It's somewhat liberating.

When ApplePay first came out I scoffed at it, thinking that I could whip out my credit card, swipe, and be on my way in less time than using the phone. After the chip system came in, though, I grew to loathe putting my card in the reader then watching for the prompt on the screen telling me that I could remove it (or waiting for the reader to beep at me for not removing it quickly enough). That was enough to get me going with ApplePay and I've been happy ever since. No more locking my attention on the screen, just turn phone on, place thumb on the scanner, and I'm done. The downside is that only Trader Joe's and my veterinarian are set up to be paid this way.

From my experience over the last two weeks, it appears that you can jam the card in before you even start a transaction and the system will do all the validation while the items are being recorded. Most of the time I have had almost no delay once everything is scanned.

I don't shop that often so a second or two additional time isn't going to impact my life.

When you discover that you are riding a dead horse, the best strategy is to dismount.

TheGreyingDuke wrote:If you have NFC do you find you use it often and with what results. Recommended or not?

You can poll but personal preference plays a big part in this and you'll find people in both camps and that won't tell you which one you're in. Best bet is to try and see for yourself. I find Apple Pay very useful but YMMV.